Agent in court this week over HMRC issue as fate of firm still in balance

The estate agent behind the troubled high end Sanderson Young company is reported to be appearing in court this week as a long-running dispute with HMRC rumbles on.

Founder and owner Duncan Young says the Newcastle-based firm, which has four offices - three in the north east plus a London presence through the Mayfair Office - admits his agency is being advertised for sale, although he insists he still wants to continue running it in some form.

The Chronicle website, reporting news from Newcastle, says that last month the agency was issued with a winding-up notice; the issue leading to the winding-up involves a reported £175,000 tax bill.

Young has told the local press: “It is my full intention to keep trading and negotiations are ongoing. There are a lot of rumours going around and none of it is factually correct. I am 99 per cent certain that the company will be back on track with me leading it.” 

Commercial website Business-Sale says the agency, with its fixed assets, is for sale for £555,449. Local newspapers also report seeing an online advert from a restructuring consultancy for a “local brand name estate agency” with “multiple offices across the North East of England”.

That advert apparently says the agency’s turnover declined from £1.7m during the full year ending December 31 2016 to £520,000 in the year ending May 31 2018.

News media in the north east have speculated that Sanderson Young - which was established in 1999 - may be purchased by local rival agency Bradley Hall; the latter’s group managing director, Neil Hart, is quoted as saying Sanderson Young is“a brand which we have long admired.”